In his book, The Wonder of the Word of God, Robert Sumner tells the story of a man in Kansas City who was severely injured in an explosion. He lost his eyesight and both hands. As a new Christian, he was disappointed that He would no longer be able to read the Bible. Then He heard of a woman who learned to read Braille with her lips. He ordered some books to learn Braille and a Bible but was doubly disappointed that the nerve endings in his lips were destroyed. One day he brought the Braille Bible to His lips and happened to touch it with his tongue. He could feel the raised characters and learned to read the Bible with his tongue. At the time Sumner wrote his book, this man had read through the Bible four times!

This gentleman found an unconventional way to read God's Word. He knew he desperately needed it, and nothing was going to keep him from it. Can we say the same?

Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. John 17:17

There's an old saying, "The Word of God will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from the Word of God." As the Psalmist said, "Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You" (Ps 119:11). "The Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword" (Hebrews 4:12). Indeed, it is the "sword of the Spirit" (Ephesians 6:17). As such, it is not just the means of our spiritual growth but a weapon in our fight against sin.

Jesus knew we would be in for a fight. He prayed that we not be taken out of the world but that we would be protected from evil in the world. We are kept by His presence and by His Word. He said the Word would be the means by which we would be able to live in the world and not be changed by it,

The only way we can live in this world and not be assimilated into it is to consistently grow in sanctification. The Greek word for sanctify is hagiazo, which means to set apart for God's use. It also includes the idea of holiness, that we are to be ever-growing in a life that is distinct from the world, separated from sin, and set apart for His service. God's Word is how this process takes place.

Sanctification is the work of God, and the means He uses is His Word. Therefore, I am encouraging you to read and grow by the Word of God. Let me suggest to you the simplest thing that will reap the most significant benefits in your sanctification:

Just read your Bible. I know people feel guilty and threatened with the idea of a daily Bible reading time. Still, it is essential to your growth in holiness. One of the reasons many don't read God's Word is because they don't know where to start and don't have a plan. So here's the next simple recommendation:

Have a plan.

Use a Bible reading guide or come up with your own. If you don't have access to a Bible reading guide, then start simple:

Read a chapter a day in Proverbs. There are 31 chapters in the book of Proverbs, so you can read one chapter a day in any given month. You don't even need to start at the beginning. If today is the 30th, read Proverbs 30. Then read chapter 31 the next day. Start over at the beginning of each month in chapter one.

Read a chapter a day anywhere. You can also read a chapter a day in any book of the Bible. If you do this, make sure you start a book at the beginning and read a chapter a day until you finish the book. If you are relatively new at this, I suggest starting in the New Testament, Matthew, or Romans.

Take notes. I've always encouraged people to mark up their Bibles with underlining, notes, and highlighting. The idea is to "lean forward" with a marker or pen in hand with the physical and spiritual posture seeking out the truth. Don't be passive, waiting for something to jump out at you. Actively look for nuggets of Truth. I've worn out several Bibles over the years, and it's always instructive and faith-building to pick up an old Bible and look at the notes one has taken and verses underlined. I am often transported back to that moment of joyful discovery when God taught me something in my daily reading.

Use a tablet. I now do the bulk of my daily reading on an iPad. Whether you have an iPad or an Android tablet, there are plenty of Bible reading apps available from Google Play or the Apple App Store. You can also use the YouVersion Bible App, which is available cross-platform. It's free and has loads of reading plans and different English versions to choose from. I use Logos Bible from Faithlife. It's easy to track my progress with an app called Readingplan. I also like it because I can underline, take notes, and open cross-references instantly with a simple touch of the screen.

Having said this about technology, my favorite way to read the Bible is to just hold that beautiful leather-bound copy of God's Word in my lap. There's nothing better.

Don't read a verse a day. That's not enough. I don't want to demean devotionals, but they are often "devoted" to one verse in the Bible. The devotional writer then tells you what it means, tells a story about it, and how you are to apply it.

I'm not against devotionals. They can be helpful, and I use them myself occasionally. But devotionals should be supplemental to your Bible reading, not in place of it. If all you are getting is someone else's thoughts about what the Bible says, then your spiritual diet is just milk.

Grow up! It's time to learn to feed yourself. It's time to move on from the milk to the meat (Hebrews 5:12-14)—to dig out the truth yourself, to dig out the application yourself. Rather than relying on someone else telling you what the Word means, learn to study and apply it yourself. "But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil" (Hebrews 5:14).

God has spoken. But many lesser voices are speaking daily into our lives—social media, online news, cable news, news aggregator apps, and blogs—not to mention the constant messaging from the entertainment world through music, videos, movies, gaming, etc. And their message? Frankly, they're all lined up on one side with a message from the world that is antithetical to God's sanctifying Truth.

Like the man who repeatedly read the entire Braille Bible with His tongue, we are desperate for God’s Word. If he could do it, so can you!